Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Below the cave lay layers of mutant corpses. The soldiers had all exited the cave to clear a path and check for any mutants that might not be completely dead.

Lin Fen pulled Yu Yuan to a corner of the east cave entrance, scrutinizing him intently, and wiped a streak of dirt off his face.

Yu Yuan pressed his hand against his face, "I've told you not to worry about me, I'm sure I'll be fine."

"We only left a few sentinel guides in the cave, how could I not worry?" Lin Fen's deep voice was almost a whisper.

Yu Yuan smiled, "The sentinel guides who stayed behind did well, especially Qin Shen. Despite his young age, his combat ability is very strong."

At this point, he looked around the crowd: "Where's Qin Shen? I haven't seen him at all. Did you just see him?"

Lin Fen frowned, "I haven't seen him since I got back."

As soon as he finished speaking, a scream erupted from the crowd: "Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? What do you want to do?"

Having just survived the mutant and zombie attack, everyone, though celebrating, was still on edge. The scream sent them scattering, darting to what they perceived as safer spots.

Yu Yuan exclaimed "This isn't good," and immediately ran towards the commotion, with Lin Fen following suit.

The crowd dispersed, leaving an empty space in the middle of the cave, but it wasn't a zombie standing there, it was Feng Chen.

Feng Chen's handsome face was twisted with ferocity, his right hand gripping the neck of an adult man, and his left arm cradling Yan Bubu.

Yan Bubu's eyes were tightly closed, his limbs limp, lying motionless in his embrace.

"Let go of me, what are you doing... what do you want to do..." Despite the man's larger build compared to Feng Chen, he couldn't break free, nor could he pry Feng Chen's fingers off.

Feng Chen radiated a palpable intent to kill, like a wild beast ready to pounce. His eyes, bloodshot, fixed on the man as he squeezed out a question through clenched teeth: "Was it you who took away my brother just now?"

"No, no, it wasn't me," the adult man explained, his face flushed red.

"At the south cave entrance earlier, I heard your voice," Feng Chen's grip tightened, the man's neck emitting a gradually intensifying cracking sound.

"Help... help..." Tears welled up in the man's eyes, filled with fear and pleading as he stared at Feng Chen.

There were no soldiers in the cave at that moment, and the bystanders, either paralyzed with fear or unsure what to do, did nothing but stare blankly.

Feng Chen's face was twisted with hatred, unmoved by the man's pleas. His fingers continued to tighten, on the verge of snapping the man's neck.

"Qin Shen! Stop!"

A stern shout came from outside the crowd, and two large birds, one black and one white, swooped down from the top of the cave. The black lion also appeared instantly beside Feng Chen, leaping up high to confront the white crane and the vulture.

Feng Chen felt a force attacking from the side, like invisible shackles binding his limbs, preventing his fingers from tightening further.

It was Yu Yuan's psychic control.

Although the whole process lasted less than half a second, a figure had already swiftly moved in, pulling the middle-aged man away from him.

"Qin Shen, what are you doing?" Lin Fen pushed the man aside and shouted angrily at Feng Chen.

The man knelt on the ground beside them, coughing violently, his saliva stretching into long strands.

Feng Chen didn't respond but continued towards the man. Lin Fen stepped in front of him, grabbing his collar with one hand.

“Qin Shen, you—”

Lin Fen began to speak, but stopped abruptly upon seeing the hatred and pain in Feng Chen's bloodshot eyes. He closed his mouth in astonishment, his gaze shifting to Yan Bubu in his arms.

Yu Yuan also approached, reaching out to touch Yan Bubu's forehead, but Feng Chen sidestepped, causing his hand to miss.

“What's wrong with Little Curly Hair?” Yu Yuan asked, his voice tightening with concern.

The three quantum beasts briefly clashed before separating, with the crane and the vulture landing in front of the black lion to block it. The black lion, tense and ready to attack again, roared angrily at the man.

Feng Chen, unable to hold back his tears at Yu Yuan's question, wept openly, gasping for breath, much like the man sitting nearby who was coughing violently, struggling to breathe.

"Tell me, what happened to him?" Yu Yuan pressed for an answer again.

Feng Chen didn't respond, but Yu Yuan's gaze fell on Yan Bubu's lower leg, and his expression instantly changed.

There, the trouser leg was pulled up, revealing a horrific bite wound.

"Uncle Wu was holding him, and these people insisted on taking him away, only to then throw him on the ground and leave him there... Uncle Wu got bitten by a zombie trying to save him..."

Feng Chen turned and pointed at the man, his voice hoarse with anger: "It was these people who caused this to them, all of them!"

"It wasn't me, I never held your brother, it wasn't me, you have to—" The man, having caught his breath, covered his neck and defended himself. But Feng Chen's gaze was that of a fierce wolf, ready to pounce and tear him to pieces, frightening the man into swallowing the rest of his words.

"Point them out to me, who were those people?" Feng Chen demanded through gritted teeth: "Point out every single one of them!"

The man indeed began scanning the crowd, trying to identify those who had clamored for Wu You to hand over Yan Bubu.

"Enough!" Lin Fen, unable to tolerate it anymore, shouted, "What then, if you find them? Are you going to kill them all?"

"Yes! I want to kill them all, every single one of them."

After shouting this, Feng Chen lunged at the man again, but Lin Fen quickly grabbed him. The black lion also pounced out, while the vulture and crane hurriedly followed to intercept.

Lin Fen, much taller than Feng Chen and mindful of Yan Bubu in his arms, didn't dare to struggle too fiercely. Thus, he was held immobile, feeling a breath trapped in his chest, swelling as if it would burst.

The furious black lion was also stopped by the two large birds, struggling and fighting with them.

"Let me go! Lin Fen, get off! Let me go! Let me go…"

Feng Chen, like a trapped lone wolf, full of fury and pain, could only emit a desperate howl. His chest wound was torn open again, blood gushing out, soaking his clothes.

Lin Fen held Feng Chen tightly from behind, his chin resting on the top of his head, continuously murmuring, "Calm down, kid, I understand, I know…"

Feng Chen, gasping for air, scanned the faces around him with wild eyes. Seeing their frightened or curious expressions, he suddenly stopped struggling.

His head throbbed with intense pain, but a crazed voice kept shouting inside him.

Those people are right here, hiding among the crowd. No need to search any further, just kill everyone here…

Feng Chen suddenly ceased his struggles, beginning to summon his psychic powers.

Kill them all, kill them all, every single one!

Yu Yuan, who had been watching him closely, noticed the fluctuation in his psychic powers and immediately used psychic control.

Feng Chen's movements froze, his arms limply dropping as Yu Yuan quickly stepped forward to catch Yan Bubu, who was about to fall to the ground. At the same time, Lin Fen struck him on the back of the neck with the edge of his hand, causing Feng Chen to lose consciousness and slump back into Lin Fen’s arms.

……

Brother, brother, brother…

Look at me, brother, I can do magic, ah woo bang gaga adawusia...

Two plus two equals four, three plus three equals six, four plus four equals eight.

Wuu wuu… Don’t leave me, brother, I was wrong, please don’t leave me…

Feng Chen felt as if he was at the bottom of a dark sea, the pressure so heavy it suffocated him. Amidst the emptiness, he could only hear Yan Bubu’s voice, sometimes whining, sometimes crying, repeatedly calling for his brother.

I’m here, I’m right here… He wanted to respond to Yan Bubu but couldn’t make a sound no matter how hard he tried. Desperately reaching out, he found only water and endless darkness around him.

Brother, brother, where are you?

I’m here, I’m right here!

Feng Chen desperately tried to speak, spinning in place in distress. He wanted to reach out to Yan Bubu but was cluelessly unsure of which direction to turn.

"Qin Shen, Qin Shen, wake up, Qin Shen."

Feng Chen suddenly opened his eyes, gasping for air as if he were on the brink of death.

"Qin Shen, Qin Shen."

The voice became clearer and clearer, ringing right beside his ear. Feng Chen slowly turned his head and saw Yu Yuan's concerned face. Yu Yuan let out a long sigh of relief upon making eye contact.

"You've been unconscious for a whole night, finally awake now." There were red streaks in Yu Yuan's eyes, and his face showed signs of fatigue, looking like he hadn't rested.

Feng Chen looked at Yu Yuan, still dazed and unsure why he was there, and blankly asked, "Where's Yan Bubu?"

"Yan Bubu?" Yu Yuan paused for a moment, then quickly realized, "Little Curly Hair? He's fine, Lin Fen is with him."

Feng Chen lay back for a few seconds before realizing he was lying on a mattress surrounded by a circle of curtains, with coarse rocks above him, as if he was in some cave.

Cave... mutants... zombies... Yan Bubu...

Those painful memories gradually returned, and Feng Chen suddenly sat up from the bed.

"Be careful, don’t move too much, or you'll reopen your bandaged wound," Yu Yuan quickly supported him.

"You said Yan Bubu is alright?" Feng Chen, not bothering to check his own wounds, grabbed Yu Yuan’s hand urgently: "Colonel Yu, is Yan Bubu really okay?"

Yu Yuan looked at his face filled with hope and anxiety. He intended to reassure him that everything was fine, but after a moment's thought, he replied, "The situation might not be very good."

The light in Feng Chen’s eyes slowly dimmed, and after a moment of silence, he asked softly, "Has he turned into a zombie?"

Yu Yuan shook his head: "No."

"Then he…"

"He's been unconscious all this time."

Feng Chen sighed in relief: "Where is he?"

"Right next to us."

After saying this, Yu Yuan pulled back the curtain behind him, revealing another mattress close by.

A small lump was visible under the blanket on the mattress, with Lin Fen sitting beside it, looking down at the person lying there.

He had heard their conversation and spoke without lifting his head: "He hasn’t woken up at all, still unconscious. I've been checking his temperature every half hour; it's normal, but the wound's condition is not good. The medic has injected several antidotes, including βU24, U5D, snake venom, and anthrax antidotes, but none seem to be effective."

Feng Chen got up and slowly walked towards the adjacent mattress, with Lin Fen naturally standing up to give him space.

Despite being mentally prepared, the sight of Yan Bubu still pierced Feng Chen's heart like a sharp spike. Bent in pain, tears fell onto the blanket, leaving small, greyish wet marks.

In just one night, Yan Bubu's face had turned a pale shade of blue-gray, his lips white without a trace of color, his eye sockets sunken. Were it not for the rise and fall of his chest, he would have appeared lifeless.

"If a normal person was bitten by a zombie, they would have completely turned by now. He's holding on because he's evolving into a guide," Yu Yuan approached Feng Chen, looking at Yan Bubu together, "There's no precedent of a sentinel or guide being bitten by a zombie; maybe it's happened elsewhere, but we wouldn't know. Little Curly Hair was bitten during a critical phase of evolution, so now it's uncertain what he will become."

After speaking, Yu Yuan gently lifted the corner of the blanket, revealing Yan Bubu's leg.

The pant leg was rolled up high, showing a large gauze pad placed loosely over a wound on the lower leg, not bandaged, just covering it.

"The wound has been treated with medicine. We feared bandaging might hinder healing, so we left it like this."

After saying this, Yu Yuan bent down and gently lifted the gauze pad.

The wound underneath the gauze looked no different from last night. Though not deep, the edges had started to show a faint ring of blue-black. On the skin around the wound, fine, spiderweb-like patterns had appeared.

Such a wound on that plump, fair leg looked especially shocking.

Feng Chen's hand trembled as he reached out to touch the wound but hesitated, fearing to hurt Yan Bubu or cause infection. His hand slowly retracted, fingers tightly clenched, nails digging into his palm.

"Some symptoms of zombification are appearing around the wound. From my observations last night, the discoloration intensifies and fades intermittently, sometimes even shrinking in size," Lin Fen pointed to the blue-black spiderweb pattern around the wound.

"Intermittent intensity? Shrinking in size?" Feng Chen turned to Lin Fen with questions.

"Yes, around 3:30 AM, the capillaries around his knee turned blue-black, but by 4:00 AM, the color began to fade," Lin Fen pointed out two spots on Yan Bubu's knee. "It receded to here, but just before dawn, it started to climb up again, stopping here. About half an hour later, it receded by roughly three centimeters."

Lin Fen withdrew his hand, gazing at Yan Bubu's face with a sigh: "Qin Shen, he's very resilient. He hasn’t given up on himself, even in unconsciousness, continually fighting the zombie virus. He wants to live."

Feng Chen choked up: "Yes, he's always been resilient. I know that better than anyone. No matter what he faces, though scared and crying, he never gives up. Not on me, nor on himself."

His voice was choked with emotion, yet filled with pride. His tear-streaked face even bore a smile.

Yu Yuan turned his head away, his eyes reddening. Lin Fen gently touched Yan Bubu's hair, his Adam's apple bobbing, eventually saying nothing.

Yu Yuan cleared his throat and turned back: "Let’s go, the boat is ready. We'll head to Central City. As for those who left Little Curly Hair during the mutant attack, they'll be dealt with, and you'll get an explanation."

Feng Chen remained silent, not responding.

Yu Yuan pulled back the curtain, revealing that most people in the cave had already left, with only a few soldiers standing at the entrance, apparently waiting for them.

Yu Yuan moved to pick up Yan Bubu, but Feng Chen stopped him, saying, "Let me do it, I’ll carry him."

"But you're injured too," Yu Yuan hesitated.

"It's okay, I’m fine now."

Yu Yuan then fetched a thick coat for Feng Chen, draped a blanket over Yan Bubu, covering him entirely, and then added a raincoat before handing him to Feng Chen.

Just as Feng Chen was about to head to the cave entrance, Yu Yuan called out, "Wait."

Feng Chen turned around to see Yu Yuan holding a cloth bag with 'Everyday Supermarket' written on it: "This is Little Curly Hair’s bag, don't forget it."

Yu Yuan smiled: "I haven't looked inside," he said, slinging the bag over Feng Chen’s shoulder and then turned to walk out of the cave with Lin Fen.

Feng Chen freed one hand to unzip the bag, finding Binunu and two password boxes inside.

Yu Yuan caught up with Lin Fen, walking shoulder to shoulder, while Lin Fen, looking straight ahead, muttered, "The password boxes are with him again?"

Yu Yuan sighed, "Let's not provoke him now."

Lin Fen remarked, "You're just too soft-hearted."

Yu Yuan glanced at him and retorted, "We could have searched their room long ago. Haven’t you refrained from doing so as well?"

Lin Fen grasped Yu Yuan's hand, speaking softly, "The kid knows what's important. He's very aware. Before we reach Central City, he'll hand over the password boxes voluntarily."

Yu Yuan didn't say anything more, instead letting out a worried sigh.

Lin Fen clasped his hand in his own: "Don’t worry, as long as Little Curly Hair holds on until we reach Central City, I’ll find someone to treat him."

"Hopefully, there’s a cure in Central City," Yu Yuan said, his expression somewhat despondent.

"Feng Chen carried Yan Bubu in his arms, gently pushing aside a curl on his forehead, whispering, 'We're about to leave this place. You must hold on, keep holding on. Once we reach the central city, I'll find the Eastern Alliance Army, seek out friends of my father, and have them take you to see a doctor.'"

"With his eyes tightly shut and a faint blue tinge on his cheeks, Yan Bubu felt Feng Chen press their faces together, 'I know you can hear me and will listen to me. You will surely hold on.'"

"At the cave entrance, Yu Yuan helped Feng Chen put on a raincoat, tucked in the blanket corners, and covered Yan Bubu's face."

"Do you need me to carry him?" Yu Yuan asked again as they descended the soft ladder.

Feng Chen declined, "No need, I can manage."

"He descended, one hand cradling Yan Bubu, the other steadying himself on the soft ladder."

"Yu Yuan was initially worried about the injuries on Feng Chen, but seeing him manage without trouble, he relaxed and marveled at the sentinel's remarkable physique and recovery."

"Having descended the mountain, the group boarded the hovercraft waiting below, steering towards the shipyard."